In all honesty, some people become rich and famous simply because they’re so interesting. Steven Seagal didn’t just ‘make it’ into movies; he was virtually drafted into the industry. Some Hollywood money-cruncher (it doesn’t matter who it was, since they’re all basically the same) spotted Seagal’s potential as an action star right at a time when action-movie stars were really in vogue. It was right around the mid-to-late eighties, and by that time, Steven Seagal was an accomplished and historically significant Martial Artist working in the Los Angeles area, sometimes as an instructor, sometimes as a Martial Arts choreographer, and sometimes as a bodyguard.
He was born in Lansing, Michigan on April 10th, 1951 but his life would bring him far from there. He began his Martial Arts training at a very young age, and by the time he was in his late teens he had several years of training behind him. At the age of seventeen he moved to Japan where he continued in his training and worked as an English teacher, but excelled in the art of Aikido. In fact, Steven Seagal is quite historically significant as he is the first foreigner in Japan to have run a Dojo. With so much mystery enshrouding this individual through so much of his life, his incredible skills as a Martial Artist and master of Aikido has never been in question.
Seagal spent at least fifteen years in Japan, studying eastern philosophies and mastering his Martial Art of choice before returning to the United States and opening a Martial Arts academy and working as a bodyguard and assisting with choreography. Because of his natural mystique and brooding good looks, along with him having the skills to make it in his genre of choice, he was quickly molded into an action movie star and that star rose fast, starting with his first starring role in Above the Law. From there, the movies came fast.
Seagal made a number of movies that did quite well and earned him considerable fame, although his acting skills didn’t necessarily match his action skills (not uncommon in his field) and eventually a number of the movies he made went straight to video in America later in his acting career. With that, though, he did make a few critically acclaimed and popular movies. But Seagal wasn’t to be pigeon-holed into the realm of cinema only, as he is also an accomplished musician. In fact, much of his music made into the soundtracks of several of his movies. He’s also known for his activist work in environmental issues, too, with much of this illustrated in several of his movies.
While Steven Seagal has often been criticized for trying to be something more than he is, just the opposite just might be the case. He isn’t the skilled Martial Artist trying to be an actor, or a mere has-been clutching to a dimming star. Steven Seagal is an accomplished, diverse and quite mysterious figure in a world where he, ironically, is recognized everywhere he goes. He is who he is and that alone is what has brought him to a very successful and enriched life. Some say he is who he is today because of who he was in lives past, only adding to the mystique. Being a deputy in Louisiana only adds to the sundry accomplishments he’s accrued, let alone the quirky rumors of CIA involvement, for what it’s worth.
Steven Seagal is more than just an actor, musician, martial artist or activist. He’s these things and a lot more, making him an accomplished individual in a world full of individuals trying to accomplish at least something. So on April 10th, let’s wish him a happy birthday and many happy days to come as he continues on his quest to a full life, full of so many accomplishments.
http://martialarts.about.com/od/martialartsculture/p/seagal.htm
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000219/bio
http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/steven-seagal.html
http://www.biggeststars.com/s/steven-seagal-biography.html
http://www.biography.com/articles/Steven-Seagal-9542595
